Fabric folding device for laying-up machines in the ready-made garment industry

ABSTRACT

A fabric feeding device for laying-up machines in which there are provided two oppositely rotating feed rollers that are mounted on a parallelogram type structure for movement between a fabric feeding position and a position where new fabric can be threaded between the feed rolls.

0 United States Patent [191 [1 1 3,850,424 Fonio Nov. 26, 1974 FABRIC FOLDING DEVICE FOR [56] References Cited LAYING-UP MACHINES IN THE UNITED STATES PATENTS READY-MADE GARMENT INDUSTRY 2,175,823 10/1939 Breth 270/31 [76] Inventor: Mario Fonio, Via Ticino 131, 3,526,398 9/l970 Merrill Ganiate (Novara), Itaiy 3,684,273 8/1972 Benson 270/3! [22] Filed: 1972 Primary Examiner-Robert W. Michell 2 App} 2 7 Assistant Examiner-A. .l. Heinz [30] Foreign Application Priority Data [57] APSTRACT A fabric feeding device for laying-up machmes in Apr 27 197i Ital 23703/7! y WillCh there are provided two oppositely rotating feed rollers that are mounted on a parallelogram type structure for movement between a fabric feeding posi [58] Fieid 226/90 91 tion and a position where new fabric can be threaded between the feed rolls.

3 Claims, 4 Drawing Figures PATENTEL Ma 2 4 3.850.424

SHEEI 2 OF 3 FABRIC FOLDING DEVICE FOR LAYING-UP MACHINES IN THE READY-MADE GARMENT INDUSTRY The present invention relates to a fabric feeding device for laying-up machines in the ready-made garment industry. It is particularly suitable for elastic fabrics in the warp or weft direction, or knit fabrics, both single, double or tubular.

It is well known in the clothing industry that the fabric coming from a rolled piece-goods must be spread forming several layers one above the other on a plane where the cutting operation will then be carried out. This is at present carried out with a machine called a laying-up machine which runs along the mentioned plane in two directions thus carrying out the spreading of the fabric during the forward run and the cutting of the spread layer at the end of its run.

It is also well known that the fabric comes from the feeding fabric roll mounted on the machine by means ofa puller roller whose driving axle is set in motion by the same mechanical devices which give way to the forward movement of the machine, so that a movement of the machine corresponds to a certain stretch of spread fabric in order to avoid irregular tensions or heaping up of the fabric during the spreading. For a more detailed description of a laying-up machine of the type described above and to which the present invention is applicable, reference is hereby made to US. Pat. No. 2,175,823.

It is also well known that there are devices suitable to make the first layer of a roll run on a spreading roller, so as to facilitate the so-called insertion of the fabric into the machine, which otherwise would be carried out manually.

These devices, which have also the task to pull the fabric without slipping, are usually formed by a free roller whose axle is mounted on an arm which can turn by 180 around the puller roller.

The device according to the present patent application is characterized by the fact that it is formed by the two driving rollers, which are parallel and turning one in the opposite direction as the other, mounted on a parallelogram-like supporting frame which turns around a central axle, which is parallel to the axles of the mentioned rollers.

The aim of the present patent application is that of making it possible the S-like passage of the fabric around the two counter-rotating rollers at any position the piece of fabric fed by the feeding roller lies in respect to the said rollers.

A further aim ofthe present patent application is that of getting a safe pulling of the fabric both single or tubular, so as to obtain a uniform spreading without ruffles or tensions. This is obtained by means ofa compact device which is less cumbersome than the well known kind with the roller on a turning arm.

Further aims, advantages and characteristics of the present patent application are those which are inherent and which will become apparent from the following detailed description of a preferred embodiment of realization which description is referred to in the accompanying drawings, wherein:

The FIG. 1 shows a schematic side view of a machine on which the device of the present patent application is mounted;

The FIG. 2 shows a view of a schematic plan of the driving devices of the machine in the FIG. 1;

The FIG. 3 shows a side view of the device according to the present patent application illustrating the course a plane 1 with provision for feeding fabric 3 from cylinder 2. A small guiding roller 4 or its counterpart 4 on the opposite side of the cylinder drives the fabric 3' to the puller device according to the present patent application. The pulley is made up essentially by two rollers 5 and 5' when are parallel and spaced apart. These rollers 5 and 5 are counter-rotating and are able to invert their position by reason of being hinged on a central fulcrum 6.

A driving device controls the forward movement of the driving wheels 7 of the machine and at the same time pulls the two rollers 5 and 5 by means of a transmission system which will be better explained later on.

The fabric coming out of rollers 5 and 5' passes through a sort of hopper 28 which spreads it without tensions on the plane 1 in a succession of layers. The fabric is cut at the end of each run of the machine by cutting devices mounted in the said hopper 28.

As said previously, the laying-up machine is a well known machine and can take on various construction forms, which can also be different from the one shown in the FIGS. 1 and 2, on which the feeding device can be mounted according to the present patent application.

With reference to the FIGS. 3 and 4 we will describe particularly a construction form of the two driving rollers used in a feeding device constructed according to the present invention. The FIG. 3 shows the path of travel of the fabric 3 around the rollers 5 and 5 moving in the direction of the arrows F and F, respectively.

With reference to the FIG. 4 there is shown a longitudinal and axial section of the two rollers 5 and 5 with the related control devices. We can see that inside the coupling 6 which represents the reciprocal rotation fulcrum of the two cylinders 5 and 5', a pin 9 is free to rotate. On the pin there is keyed, outside the fulcrum 6, a control device, for example a chain wheel 8 driven by the driving devices which carry out also the forward movement of the machine along the plane 1. On the other end of the pin 9 and outside of the coupling 6 there is keyed a gear 10 which controls a gear wheel which is in turn keyed on one end of the axle of the cylinder 5. On the other end of this axle there is keyed another gear wheel 13 which meshes in its turn with a similar gear wheel 14 keyed on the end corresponding to the axle of the cylinder 5. Thus rotation of the chain wheel 8 causes rotation of rollers 5 and 5 at the same speed in opposite direction.

The two rollers are supported in a way that they can rotate at their ends on two brackets 16 and 17 which are connected together by'means of the tie rods 18 and 19 which are coaxial to the axles of the cylinders 5 and 5, respectively. The two brackets 16 and 17 and the relative rods 18 and 19 form a'fixed parallelogram which can rotate on itself around its own central axis. The axis of the parallelogram coincides with the mid line of the axles of the two cylinders 5 and 5' and also with the axis of the two parts 6 and 6. The two rollers 5 and 5 can thus rotate together as indicated in the FIG. 3, from the position A to the position B. This is useful to facilitate the insertion of the fabric 3 coming from the cylinder 2 to the rollers 5 and 5 and to give it an S-line way as shown in the Figure. This operation is usually called insertion of the fabric into the machine and it is made in the following way.

The hook 25, which can rotate around its pin 26, keeps the rollers in the work position being connected with the retainer 27 fixed on the frame of the machine. The hook 25 is engaged with the retainer 27 by a spring 30. When a new roll of fabric is inserted into the machine and threaded about the rollers 5 and 5', the retainer 27 is freed of by acting on the hook 25 and therefore the whole system can rotate from the position A to the position B in the direction of the arrow in the FIG. 3. When the rollers 5 and 5 are in the position thus inverted and that is with the hook in the position 25' shown with dotted lines the fabric is easily inserted through the space left free between the rollers. 7

According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the so-called insertion of the fabric can be made even if the fabric is laid on the outside on one or the other of the two rollers. In fact, if we start the machine and make the rollers 5 and 5 rotate in the sense of the arrows F and F, respectively, the fabric-wherever it is pulled to the area between the said rollers and, after completing their inversion as already said, the fabric is correctly positioned as shown in the FIG. 3. If we go back to the FIG. 4, we notice that it is possible to free the rollers 5 and 5 from the driving devices of the machine so that it can make empty runs without laying fabric on the plane 1. To this purpose, inside the pin 9 there is a rod 23 on whose external end an operating handle is fixed, such as the sphere 22, and on whose opposite end, towards the inside of the device, there is fixed a washer 24 placed in a chamber inside the gear 10.

The gear can longitudinally run for a certain stretch along the pin 9, for example, there can be constructed some grooves on it to which proper slidable guides of the gear itself correspond so that when the handle 22 is pulled there occurs an axial slide of the gear 1(1 thus freeing it from the gear wheel 11. The wheel is free and cannot drive the cylinders 5 and 5 any more. The machine can thus move along the plane 1 without laying the fabric 3, for example, in the case in which the laying of the fabric must occur during one run only of the machine while the other is empty. By returning the handle 22 to its first position, the cylinders are again coupled and they are set in motion. Possible additions and/or modifications can be made to the preferred embodiment described but such modifications are intended to be within the scope and purview of this invention.

1 claim:

1. A fabric feeding device for laying-up machines of the type for laying out multiple layers of fabric for cutting into garment sections, comprising:

a. a pair of puller rollers for advancing the fabric to a feed position for forming layers by the machine;

b. a parallelogram-like frame for rotatably supporting said puller rollers in spaced and parallel relation;

0. drive means for rotating said puller rollers in opposite directions within said parallelogram-like frame;

d. means mounting said parallelogram-like frame for rotation around a central axis to locate said puller rollers in a first substantially vertical position to effect the threading of the fabric therebetween and to a second substantially horizontal position for advancing the fabric for release and layering by the machine and a locking means for maintaining said puller rollers in said second position.

2. The fabric feeding device according to claim 1 wherein said parallelogram-like frame includes opposed end brackets interconnected by spaced tie rods extending coaxial with the axes of said puller rollers.

3. The fabric feeding device according to claim 2 wherein said opposed end brakcets are fulcrumed intermediate said tie rods for effecting rotation of said parallelogram-like frame between said first and second positions. 

1. A fabric feeding device for laying-up machines of the type for laying out multiple layers of fabric for cutting into garment sections, comprising: a. a pair of puller rollers for advancing the fabric to a feed position for forming layers by the machine; b. a parallelogram-like frame for rotatably supporting said puller rollers in spaced and parallel relation; c. drive means for rotating said puller rollers in opposite directions within said parallelogram-like frame; d. means mounting said parallelogram-like frame for rotation around a central axis to locate said puller rollers in a first substantially vertical position to effect the threading of the fabric therebetween and to a second substantially horizontal position for advancing the fabric for release and layering by the machine and a locking means for maintaining said puller rollers in said second position.
 2. The fabric feeding device according to claim 1 wherein said parallelogram-like frame includes opposed end brackets interconnected by spaced tie rods extending coaxial with the axes of said puller rollers.
 3. The fabric feeding device according to claim 2 wherein said opposed end brakcets are fulcrumed intermediate said tie rods for effecting rotation of said parallelogram-like frame between said first and second positions. 